Title page for ETD etd-08242011-210636

Chinese Influence on Western Women’s Dress in American Vogue Magazine, 1960-2009

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Department

Human Ecology

Advisory Committee

Advisor Name

Title

Kuttruff, Jenna Tedrick

Committee Chair

Washington-Brown, Andrea L.

Committee Member

McRoberts, Lisa Barona

Committee Member

Negulescu, Ioan I.

Committee Member

Mitchell, Roland W.

Dean's Representative

Keywords

Chinese influence

dress

fashion magazine

Date of Defense

2011-05-17

Availability

unrestricted

Abstract

Chinese culture has dramatically influenced Western women’s fashionable dress over many centuries. Researchers have studied Chinese dress and its influence on Western women’s dress in the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth century. However, no research has systematically examined Chinese dress influences on Western women’s dress from the time

that China reopened its door to the West in the 1970s and into the twenty-first century.

The purpose of this study is to trace Chinese influence in Western women’s dress from 1960 to 2009 in American Vogue magazine. The specific aims of this study are to identify and record the influence of the Hanfu, Qipao, and Mao suit along with other Chinese dress characteristics, including accessories, hair styles, and makeup, on Western women’s dress as depicted in the magazine over fifty years. The ways in which elements and patterns of Chinese dress were adopted into modern Western women’s fashion was examined along with concurrent social changes and globalization by tracing a single popular fashion magazine, American Vogue.

Content analysis was applied to answer the research questions. A total of 704 issues of American Vogue were examined and the frequencies of Chinese attributes present in both visual representations and written references in every issue were recorded. The visual counts were accompanied by examination of verbal text, such as articles, editorials, and figure captions that referred to China.

The results indicate that Chinese influence in visual representations was seen throughout the entire research period in greater numbers than written references. The two decades with the highest numbers of occurances in both written references and visual representations were the 1970s and 1990s. Garment features had higher frequencies than fabric, accessories, and other features. As a garment type, Qipao had the greatest influence on Western women’s dress. Collars appeared as the most influenced construction element depicted in Vogue. Political events, culture, globalization, and fashion trends all played important roles in the frequency of Chinese influences seen on Western women’s fashionable dress in American Vogue.